“Hahaha, just kidding. Surprised?”
Hero Klein-sama laughed cheerfully, as if it were all a joke meant to surprise us. …All while still holding a bloodstained sword in his hand.
“Snow-san…”
“Yes, Aria.”
…This isn’t a joke. It’s not about Klein-sama killing his comrades. It’s that before he did it, and even now, he showed absolutely no Killing Intent.
Neither Aria nor I hesitate to kill our enemies, but even so, there’s always a reason to take someone’s life, and the “will” to do it.
But Klein-sama acted as if it were perfectly natural, doing it so casually.
And what’s more, he calls it a mere “joke.” But as we warily kept our distance from him, Klein-sama frowned slightly.
“…Huh, that’s strange. I thought you’d find it a bit more amusing.”
Klein-sama muttered, scratching his head with the hand not holding the sword, looking dissatisfied.
What he said, “I want to kill,” was likely his true feeling, not a joke. But if I, who was reluctantly called a “murderer,” were to speak from my senses, it seemed like only a “part” of him.
He committed “murder” on the same level as generally unacceptable things like “enjoying light drugs” or “liking malicious jokes,” and then turned it into a joke, like making an excuse to “offer alcohol to an innocent girl.”
It’s not really my place to say, but… is this guy insane?
“Well, can’t be helped…”
As we exuded a tingling, paralyzing tension, Klein-sama sighed and suddenly pointed the fingertips he’d been scratching his head with towards us.
“Well, if you’re this shaken (・・・), that’s enough, I guess.”
” “!?” ”
In that instant—my mind, which had been on high alert without any carelessness, felt as if a haze had descended, numbing it, and I felt a new “emotion” seeping in like poison.
This is—
＊＊＊
Klein was born in a certain kingdom on another continent.
That kingdom, though small, was never invaded by larger nations; it was an idyllic and peaceful country. Born as the third son of a mid-ranking noble family, Klein was removed from succession disputes and raised with relative freedom.
However, from a young age, Klein constantly harbored a strange dissatisfaction.
A mysterious “memory” he was born with… A strange world he repeatedly saw in dreams since childhood.
A world overflowing with conveniences, where various ingredients were available, a peaceful and unstimulating world where one could live without any hardship if they lived normally.
In that “Dream” world, Klein lived as a different person, but that person, much like the current Klein, was always dissatisfied.
A dream-like world where anything could be obtained in exchange for money, a world without hardship as long as one had money. There, the young man who was Klein sought all kinds of stimulation, reached out for everything, and in the end, obtained nothing, ending his life mired in drugs.
Just a “Dream”… But the craving he experienced in that dream seared young Klein’s heart and cast a dark shadow over it.
Unable to do anything, burning alone with dissatisfaction and craving in that idyllic environment, a “Spirit” suddenly appeared before Klein.
“—I grant you the qualification of ‘Hero.’ Obtain the Spirit Blessing and save this world—”
“—Defeat the ‘evil’ that will appear in this world and strive to maintain it—”
He knew of the existence of “Heroes.” He had heard such stories from priests at the Holy Church he attended since childhood, read fairy tales, and children his age admired the existence of Heroes.
But Klein felt irritated by such an abrupt and one-sided declaration, and he made a demand to the Spirit who selected Heroes and granted Divine Protections for the sake of maintaining the world.
“Give me the power to do as I please with this world”—he demanded.
The six great spirits of Light, Dark, Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind, unlike the spirits of Dungeons which are sublimated human thoughts, had no interest in the human world as long as the world itself was maintained, and so they granted Klein the power he desired.
The reason the spirits chose Klein as the Hero was because he possessed the soul strength to traverse between worlds.
Klein, understanding that the dream he had been seeing since childhood was another world, accepted and decided to become a Hero.
The power of that Divine Protection (Gift) was immense, and Klein obtained Status several times that of an ordinary person and a body that allowed his skills to grow quickly.
So that he—the Klein from the “Dream”—could obtain what he had sought…
＊＊＊
“—You fool!—”
Having taken Hero Klein’s preemptive strike, the Fire Dragon that had retreated into the sky swooped back down, unleashing a breath of fire. But—
“—”
At that moment, one of the two girls behind Klein—the white-haired girl—unleashed a wall of ice that clashed with the fiery breath.
As if ignoring the strain on the human body, the high output caused the white-haired girl’s capillaries to burst, dyeing her delicate white hands crimson with blood.
The next instant—
Clang!!
“…”
“—Ngh!—”
Suddenly, as if leaping through space, the Pink-Haired Girl appeared, swinging down her Black Knife, and wounded the Fire Dragon’s horn as it instinctively tried to block.
“Ahaha! That’s right, Snow, Aria! You two are truly worthy of being my companions!”
“—You bastard!—”
The Fire Dragon glared at the laughing Hero Klein as if growling.
Seeing the two girls wield unnatural power beyond their physical limits, as if protecting the very man who had cut down his comrades, the Fire Dragon scowled in irritation.
Just because its opponent was a young individual who had only recently shed its juvenile form didn’t mean this Fire Dragon would go easy on them. The world was survival of the fittest, and it had always slaughtered all challengers as warriors, devouring them if they were strong.
But—
“—You! What have you done to these girls?!—”
The Fire Dragon’s “Dragon Eyes” could perceive spirits. With them, it saw the girls ensnared by powerful dark Magical Element, as if bound.
If they were enemies, it would kill them. But there was no life in the girls’ eyes, and it was clear they were not attacking the Fire Dragon of their own free will.
The Fire Dragon had been born on this continent and had lived for nearly a thousand years as an Elemental Dragon.
Long ago, it fought as it pleased and devoured according to instinct. It had fought a life-and-death battle with the now-vanished Iron Elves and had even destroyed human settlements.
But these thousand years had instilled in the Fire Dragon a “pride” as the apex of living beings.
It could not forgive anything that defiled its battles. It sympathized with the girls who were obstructing it, but an Elemental Dragon was not so weak as to be defeated by attacks lacking will.
“—At least I’ll grant you a swift death—”
As it prepared, inhaling a massive amount of fire Magical Element, the moment it was about to unleash it—
“Is it okay to look away?”
Just a slight—a momentary opening that the Fire Dragon had shown.
Hero Klein, who had leaped in in an instant, raised his one-handed sword and unleashed a slash with an enormous amount of Magical Element.
“—[Combat Art] Conqueror!—”
—Slash!!
“Guaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!?”
The unleashed flash of light deeply slashed the Fire Dragon’s thick neck.
It was a [Combat Art] sword technique boasting high power, but ordinarily, it shouldn’t have had enough force to deeply wound an Elemental Dragon. The “Hero’s” Status… the power of the Divine Protection (Gift) bestowed by the Great Spirit of Light made it possible.
“Ahaha, tormenting strong guys is fun after all, isn’t it?”
“Gughaa…”
As the Fire Dragon, which had narrowly survived thanks to its tough scales, glared, Klein smiled.
For Klein, everything was a game, but the words he uttered were not a lie either.
Despite agreeing to become a Hero to do as he pleased, the Holy Church, which provided funds and authority, wouldn’t allow it and kept pushing troublesome things onto him.
Klein had come to see the overbearing and annoying Nighthardt and Douglas as nuisances and had been looking for an opportunity.
However, they were still “Hero-Class,” the pinnacle of humanity. They couldn’t be easily eliminated, neither in terms of skill nor reputation. But with the appearance of two good-looking girls who were also Hero-Class, Klein came up with a plan to abandon his current two companions.
Against a Fire Dragon, it wouldn’t be surprising if Hero-Class individuals were defeated. Even if some were reluctant about these young girls joining, they wouldn’t be able to refuse the request of a Hero who had lost companions.
And then, seeing him cut down his own comrades right before their eyes—it was a close call, but the conditions were met.
The Hero harbored a mighty Divine Protection of “Light” and could even manipulate the power of “Darkness,” which was two sides of the same coin as Light.
He hadn’t bothered to learn Light or Dark magic as they didn’t seem interesting, but the Light he harbored constantly restored his life force, and the inverted power of Darkness could interfere with people’s minds.
It’s a technique that can’t be used unless the target’s heart is shaken, even slightly. But as living beings, they can’t completely control their hearts. Using the ‘comrade killing’ Klein had demonstrated as a trigger, he had interfered with the girls’ minds.
“Just when things were about to get entertaining, if you get yourselves killed, all my efforts will be for nothing, right? This is a hassle, so just go ahead and die. I have to break the two of you in next, after all.”
Klein said, raising his sword once more.
Consecutive use of Battle Arts shouldn’t be possible, but for a Hero whose life force recovers, it might be. The very moment Magical Element gathered again on his raised one-handed sword—
Thwack!
I heard the sound of something striking, and when I looked in that direction, the Pink-Haired Girl, who had slammed her own fist into her forehead, and a white-haired girl, blood trickling from her mouth, simultaneously glared at Klein.
” “—You have become ‘our’ enemy—” “
They snap at the Hero who has shown his true colors.
Their true strength is…